Twenty five
by Spazzy Princess
Summary: It turns out Bella has been hallucinating since she came to Forks. Who is Nessie's dad?


**Disclaimer: I do not own Twilight. If I did, would I be on here?**

* * *

"We have no records of a Dr. Cullen working here."

She stared.

"Momma?" her daughter asked, tugging on her hand. "Momma, I'm hungry. Can we have lunch?"

She couldn't believe this. Carlisle Cullen had worked at this hospital ever since she could remember. They must have a record.

Because if they didn't have a record, that could only mean one thing.

Edward had never existed.

It couldn't be. Of course he existed.

The proof was holding her hand.

She looked down, suddenly remembering her daughter.

"Renesmee, who is your father?" she asked.

"I don't know. Nobody ever tells me about him," Renesmee said sadly. "Why?"

She slowly straightened up. Her daughter did not know her own father. The most wonderful man in the world.

The black abyss opened before her. They must be right then. She must be crazy.

Crazy enough to have been hallucinating since she moved to Forks.

-o-o-o-

"Dad, Renesmee would like to know about her father," she said. _And so would I._

He sighed. He'd known this was going to come up sooner or later. After all, Bella had been hallucinating when she got pregnant with Renesmee.

"No one knows who he was, Nessie," he said, kneeling down to look at his granddaughter. _Your mother was crazy at the time._

"That's impossible," Nessie said with all the authority of her six years. "Mommies always know who the daddy is."

"Not always," he disagreed. And then he mentally kicked himself. Nessie didn't need to know about her mother's condition at the time of her birth.

-o-o-o-

What is real?

She was slowly learning the answer to that question.

Vampires aren't real. Werewolves aren't real.

And therefore, Edward wasn't real.

Then who was Nessie's father?

No one knew. Was she sure this wasn't the fantasy, and her other life the reality? The one where Edward existed?

But why would she fantasize such a painful place to live? A world without Edward?

She knew the answer to that one.

She had never been right for him. He was too perfect for her. He shouldn't have loved her. So she had created a world where he had no obligations to her. So that he could find someone as perfect as him to love. Like Tanya.

She hadn't taken her medicine today.

-o-o-o-

She opened her eyes. He was there, lying next to her.

"Oh, Edward, I had the most horrible dream!" she exclaimed.

"Dream? Bella, have you forgotten one tiny detail? You don't sleep anymore."

She rolled her eyes. "Ok, call it whatever you want. Revelation, vision, whatever." And with that, she lifted her shield and replayed the entire dream. It was much easier than sharing it aloud.

He took her hand in his, frowning deeply. "Do you really think I'm too perfect for you?"

She looked at him. He read the answer in her eyes.

"Isabella Cullen," he said with exasperation. "Do you honestly think I would have married you if you were any less perfect?"

-o-o-o-

"Momma?"

Her worried voice woke her. She sat up and looked at her standing in the doorway. "Yes, honey?"

"Did you take your medicine?" she asked accusingly.

She stared at her. If Nessie was the hallucination, then why did she feel so disappointed in herself for not taking the medicine? The medicine was their way of keeping her from Edward. She didn't know why they wanted to keep her away from him, but they did. Why didn't Nessie want her to spend time with her daddy? They'd turned her own daughter against her!

"Momma, Grandpa says you need to take your medicine. He says he's coming in to make sure you take it."

She growled. Who were they to take her from Edward?

Nessie's eyes widened. "Momma?" she asked tentatively.

Charlie was there, pill bottle in one hand, a glass of water in the other. "I'll take it from here, Nessie. Go get ready for school."

She took one last look at her momma, then left.

Charlie advanced toward the bed. "Bella, do you remember why you need to take the medicine?"

"Yes. To keep me from him," she spat.

"Bella, no one's trying to keep you from anybody. But you – " he paused, trying to find the right words and not sound confrontational. "He's not real, Bella. Whoever Nessie's dad is, he is not an Edward Cullen."

-o-o-o-

She made a face at her nametag. Her teacher had misspelled her name. She raised her hand.

"Yes, Renesmie?" her teacher asked.

"Renesmee," she corrected. "You misspelled my name. It's supposed to be spelled with an e where the i is. And my name is Renesmee Cullen, not Renesmee Swan."

The teacher looked down at the class list. "It says here your last name is Swan," she said in confusion, wondering if Cullen was a name Renesmee had come up with. She already had a strange first name, now a last name too?

Renesmee scowled. "My daddy's last name is Cullen, so it's mine too." That was practically all she knew about her daddy. That and his first name was Edward.

-o-o-o-

"Make a wish, Momma!" Nessie cried.

She closed her eyes and wished that Edward had not been just a dream. Or hallucination, or whatever it was. Then she blew out the candles.

She was twenty-five.

* * *

**I don't know if I consider this complete or in-progress. I may add more and I may not.**


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